Listing
eBay item specifics: how your listing shows up in filters
Buyers narrow a search with filters such as brand, color and size, and those filters read your listing's item specifics. Which fields are required, which are recommended, and what an empty one costs you, step by step.
When a buyer searches eBay for "wireless earbuds", thousands of listings come up. Most buyers then turn to the filters: brand, color, connectivity, condition. If your listing shows up in those filters it stays on the list; if it doesn't, however good its title, it drops out the moment a filter is chosen. Filters read your listing's item specifics, not its title.
Required, recommended, optional
- Required: eBay won't accept the listing without them. They vary by category; brand is required in most.
- Recommended: the listing goes live without them, but they are usually the filters buyers use most.
- Optional: the other fields on the category's list; fill them in when they describe your item better.
- Your own: for information that isn't on the list you can write your own field name and value; but filters only use eBay's own fields.
Each category has its own list, and eBay updates it from time to time. A listing accepted yesterday can count as incomplete today because a new field became required.
Product identity: brand, MPN and barcode
For new items eBay asks for identifiers so it can recognize the product: the brand, the manufacturer part number (MPN) and a barcode such as a UPC or EAN. If the item truly has no barcode, the field says "Does not apply"; you never make up a number. The right barcode ties your listing to the same product in eBay's catalog.
Writing the right value
- Pick from the list: if one of eBay's suggested values fits, choose it. A spelling of your own becomes a separate option in the filter, and most buyers won't choose it.
- Describe the item, not the search: putting several brands or unrelated words in a field is against eBay's rules and can get the listing removed.
- Stay consistent with the title: naming one color in the title and another in the color field confuses both buyers and search.
- In listings with variations, options such as color and size are set on the variations themselves; don't repeat them in the general specifics.
In SellerLibrary
The Listing Studio fills the specifics from the source listing, checks the chosen category's required fields and names any that are still missing. In a bulk upload, when the same required field is missing on several items you write it once and it's applied to every item missing it.
A title has an order too: brand, product type, details. The 80-character title post walks through it with an example.
Common questions
What if I don't know a required specific?
Check the item's box, its manual or the manufacturer's page. If the information truly doesn't exist and eBay offers "Does not apply", choose that; never guess a value, because wrong information leads to returns and complaints.
Do item specifics affect search ranking?
eBay doesn't explain in detail how search order is worked out. What is certain: a buyer who picks a filter never sees a listing with that field empty.
Can I add a specific of my own?
Yes; for information that isn't on the list you can write your own field name and value. It shows on the listing page but not in the filters.
Related posts
- ListingAn 80-character eBay title, in the order buyers searcheBay gives a title 80 characters. Written in the right order, brand, product type and details make every word work in search; repeats, capitals and empty phrases just take up space. Step by step, with an example.
- Product researcheBay listings with variations: which option sellsA listing can sell options such as color and size together, but most sales often come from a few of them. The rules for listings with variations, and how to look at the option that sells when you research.
- Product research7 questions to ask when choosing an eBay product research toolSeven questions to ask before trying an eBay product research tool: where the figures come from, whether the whole store is read, whether Amazon matches come with reasons, fees, who approves, the rules and your data.